Editing Gap year (section)

===United States===
In the [[United States]], the practice of taking a "year off" remains the exception, but is gaining in popularity.<ref name="Sara Castellanos">{{cite news
| last=  Castellanos
| first=  Sarah
| url=  http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2014/06/gap-year-travel-startup-first-abroad-offers-cheap.html
| title=  Gap Year Travel Start Up Offers Programs 'Too Good to be True'
| work =  [[Boston Business Journal]]
| date=  9 June 2014
}}</ref> Parents are starting to encourage their high school graduates to take a gap year to focus on service opportunities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://christlife.org/blog/learning-from-the-bruderhof-an-intentional-christian-community|title=Learning from the Bruderhof: An Intentional Christian Community|work=ChristLife|access-date=2017-12-19|language=en}}</ref> Schools are also beginning to support gap years more; most notably Harvard University and Princeton University, are now encouraging students to take time off, and some have even built gap year-like programs into the curriculum,<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Program |url=https://www.princeton.edu/bridgeyear/ |website=Princeton University |publisher=Trustees of Princeton University |access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref> and many high schools now have counselors specifically for students interested in taking a gap year.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2011/09/23/take-a-gap-year-with-your-colleges-blessing/ | work=[[Forbes]] | first=Tanya | last=Mohn | title=Take a Gap Year, With Your College's Blessing |date=23 September 2011}}</ref>

Taking a year off has recently become slightly more common for Americans, the main reason is that students often feel burnt out with schooling and want to take time to make sure their lives are headed in a direction that suits them.<ref name="SUE SHELLENBARGER">{{cite news
| last=  Shellenbarger
| first=  Sue
| url=  https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203513204576047723922275698 
| title=  Delaying College to Fill in the Gaps
| work=  [[Wall Street Journal]]
| date=  29 December 2010
}}</ref> Some 40,000 Americans participated in 2013 in sabbatical programs, an increase of almost 20% since 2006, according to statistics compiled by the [http://www.americangap.org/data-benefits.php American Gap Association]. Universities such as [[Georgetown University]], [[New York University]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/admitted-students/deferring-admission.html |title=Deferring Your Enrollment |work=New York University}}</ref> [[Amherst College]], [[Princeton University]], [[Harvard University]], [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], [[Middlebury College]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.middlebury.edu/admissions/apply/decisions/gapyearinfo |title=Gap Year Information |work=Middlebury College |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> [[Davidson College]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.davidson.edu/admission-and-financial-aid/frequently-asked-questions |title=Frequently Asked Questions |work=Davidson College |access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref> [[Yeshiva University]],<ref>[[Yeshiva University#Rankings|Yeshiva University Rankings]]</ref> and [[Reed College]] have formal policies allowing students to defer admission.<ref name="SUE SHELLENBARGER" />

[[Tufts University]] offers a program called 1+4 which allows students from lower income-families to volunteer abroad or within America for a period of one year before starting their bachelor's degree.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tufts 1+4 Bridge-Year Program |url=https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/education/tufts1plus4 |website=Tufts University |publisher=Trustees of Tufts College |access-date=20 September 2018 |archive-date=23 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923182409/https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/education/tufts1plus4 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Naropa University<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naropa.edu|title=Home - Naropa University|website=www.naropa.edu}}</ref> in Boulder, Colorado, is the first U.S. university to fully integrate the gap year into a four-year undergraduate degree, which makes financial aid directly available to any student considering a gap year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naropa.edu/academics/bachelors/leap-year/index.php|title=LEAPYEAR - Naropa University|website=www.naropa.edu}}</ref>

Some formal gap year programs can cost as much as $30,000, but cheaper alternatives are becoming more widely available; some reduce costs by offering room and board.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/97065/gap-year-college/ | magazine=Time | first=Randye | last=Hoder | title=Why Your High School Senior Should Take a Gap Year | date=14 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/06/09/gap-year-program-profile-conservation-corps |title= Gap Year Program Profile: Conservation Corps |first=Rebecca |last=Kern |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |date=9 June 2010}}</ref> For example, the [[National Civilian Community Corps]], an [[AmeriCorps]] program, offers 18- to 24-year-olds (no age limit for Team Leaders) an all-expense-paid gap year (room & board, meals, transportation, etc.) in exchange for a 10-month commitment to National and Community service.<ref name="nationalservice.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalservice.gov/nccc |title=AmeriCorps NCCC |work=[[Corporation for National and Community Service]] |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> AmeriCorps NCCC members travel the country in diverse teams and perform a variety of tasks such as rebuilding trails in national parks, responding to natural disasters, or working as mentors for disadvantaged youths.<ref name="nationalservice.gov"/> As with most AmeriCorps programs, service members receive an education award of approximately $6,000 upon completion of their service that can be used toward qualified educational expenses or student loans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award |title=Segal AmeriCorps Education Award |work=Corporation for National and Community Service |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> The zero cost to the member model AmeriCorps offers makes it an attractive alternative to costly gap year programs while leveraging taxpayer dollars to strengthen American communities.

Additionally, new federal partnerships such as [[FEMA Corps]] offer traditional gap year seekers an immersive professional and team-building experience that can serve as a launch pad for their careers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalservice.gov/FEMACorps |title=FEMA Corps |work=Corporation for National and Community Service |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> Some government programs designed to help students afford college prohibit students from taking a gap year. For example, the Tennessee Promise program requires that students must "Attend full-time and continuously at an eligible postsecondary institution as defined in T.C.A. § 49-4-708 in the fall term immediately following graduation or attainment of a GED or HiSET diploma; except that a student enrolling in a Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) may enroll in the summer prior to the fall term."<ref>{{cite web |title=Tennessee Promise Handbook |url=http://tennesseepromise.gov/files/TNPromiseHandbook080514.pdf |work=Tennessee Promise |access-date=24 April 2016 |archive-date=24 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824080635/http://tennesseepromise.gov/files/TNPromiseHandbook080514.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Malia Obama]], daughter of former President Barack Obama, took a gap year before attending Harvard University in the fall of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=fe06e9af-28a3-4a35-a977-8aedae55650e%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl|title=gap year gain|last=Barnds|first=kent|date=2018|website=ebsco}}</ref> Universities such as Harvard and Princeton are encouraging students to take a Gap year. This time that is taken off can be beneficial so students don't "burn out" or partake in indulging behaviors that promote unhealthy stress.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/05/01/why-harvard-encourages-students-to-take-a-gap-year-just-like-malia-obama-is-doing/|title=Why Harvard 'encourages' students to take a gap year. Just like Malia Obama is doing.|last=Strauss|first=Valerie|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref>